Only For A While
by Huck23
Summary: Leah Clearwater finds a little piece of happiness in her very troubled life. But because she's Leah that happiness can only last for a while.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.

* * *

_Bang_

_Bang_

_Bang_

Leah climbed out of bed slowly, reluctantly throwing her full sized, blue and white patch quilt off of her body. She took a moment to rub her eyes sleepily before grabbing her iphone off of the oak table next to her bed. She winced as the bright light hit her face.

"Who in the world knocks on someone's door at 1 in the morning?" She grumbled after glancing at the time and then placing the phone back on the table. "Better be good."

Leah left her bedroom and made her way through the dark apartment (save for the dim hue of the stove light) towards the front door. When she opened the door she was met with a hard bang to the knee and a high pitched squeal.

"And who are you?"

Kneeling before Leah, was a boy. He was little thing, no more than 2 feet tall, with a head full of dark, curly hair and tan skin. His little body was covered by a blue coat that looked to be two sizes too big for him. Leah also noticed that the coat (as well as the boy's worn looking blue jeans) were smudged with a brown substance.

Currently, the boy was sporting a big mischievous grin and he had a Thomas the train toy gripped tightly in one of his chubby hands.

"Hi!" The little boy chirped happily as he stared up at Leah.

Leah smiled instantly. His big dimpled cheeks, wide happy smile, and friendly light brown eyes reminded her of Claire.

"Hi." She answered back softly.

"Luca!"

Leah stretched away from her apartment door and took a glance down the open, poorly lit hallway. There was a woman with a black bag strapped around her shoulders running up toward them. When she reached them, she swooped the boy, Luca, up into her arms immediately.

Luca gave the woman's face several pats as he chanted, "Mama" over and over again.

"Hey." Leah stated, eyeing the woman. She was like a taller, more feminine version of the boy, or really the boy was a tinier, more masculine version of her. Both had the same dark, curly hair, tan skin, and big, chubby cheeks. The only thing that differed between the two were their eyes. While the boy had bright, brown eyes, his mother's eyes were very dark, almost black. Leah couldn't help but stare into them.

The woman's dark eyes widened when she saw Leah. If she wasn't already frantic about losing the boy then she was downright losing her mind at the realization that someone else had gotten to him before she did. "Oh God! I'm so sorry!"

Leah wasn't quite sure if the woman was apologizing to her because Luca had waken her up at 3 a.m. or to Luca because she had lost the boy and possibly put in him in danger. In the end, Leah figured it was both.

Even though Leah was a slightly irritated about being woken up, she waved the other woman off. "It's alright. He's tiny, whatcha gonna do about it?" Leah gave her best smile in an attempt to reassure the woman.

"Watch him better." The woman stated flatly.

"Touché."

For a moment they just stood there awkwardly; Leah a little chilly in her thin, purple and yellow Tweety Bird pajamas and the woman barely keeping warm in her torn blue jeans and thin black jacket. Luca seemed not to notice and babbled happily as he alternating between twisting his tiny fingers in his mother's hair and throwing kisses in Leah's direction.

"So, uh, again I'm sorry about this. Him waking you up this late and all." The woman said breaking their few seconds of silence. She seemed very antsy, like she was going to take off run any minute now.

"Like I said, it's alright." Leah smiled when Luca gave his fingers a wet kiss and then waved them in her direction. "Besides, he's adorable."

"Thank you."

Leah eyed the woman again, this time focusing on the black bag strapped around her shoulder. There was a purple shirt sleeve hanging out of the side of the bag and it was bulky like it had been stuffed full with a ton of stuff. It was also stained with a brown substance (the same substance Leah had noticed on Luca's jeans and now the woman's as well).

Leah gave the air a subtle sniff and her eyes narrowed slightly when the most prominent smells she could catch on the two were of grass and dirt.

"Say, do you mind me asking why you two are out here? I mean, it's pretty damn late." Leah's stance shifted, she now had a hand on her hip and her eyes were narrowed suspiciously at the woman.

The woman's face went hard as she gripped Luca tighter to her arms. "What's it to you?"

"Gee, it's late and you have a small child with you. I guess I shouldn't be worried about the two of you being out here at all." Leah's sarcasm was met with a glare. "No, look, I'm sorry." Leah closed her eyes and sighed before she opened them again. She stared directly into the other woman's dark eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm just…who wouldn't be worried? It's cold out here and I'm pretty sure you've got no place to go."

"W-well we were just about to hop the subway. I decided to take a little rest." The woman seemed a taken aback by Leah's frankness then subsequent gentleness.

Leah arched a brow, her arms crossed over her chest. She immediately went back into hard ass Leah mode. She'd beat herself up about it later.

"Oh really? Because the metro station closed. At 12 am. It's 1 o'clock now."

The woman huffed in defeat. "Well fuck, I wasn't taking the subway."

Luca poked his mother's cheeks. "No, no mama!"

The woman smiled down at her son. "I know, I know."

"You guys want to come in?" Leah can't believe that those words just fell out of her mouth. She's spent a long time not letting strangers in and today's really not the day to start.

The woman's eyes were wide again as she stared at Leah. "What?"

"I don't know. It just seemed like…" She trails off, not really wanting to discuss the obvious reality of Luca and his mother's situation. The dirt stained clothes and the resting in the open hallway of an apartment building say it all.

The woman stares at Leah for a long moment and Leah looks down at her feet, at Luca, around them. Anywhere that's not the dark, probing eyes before her.

"You serious?" She finally asks.

Leah nods. "Yeah. It's chilly out and a bed's better than a sidewalk."

"Okay but if anything happens to my son or myself you're a dead woman. Understand?"

Leah nods frantically. She doesn't bother to mention that she's a werewolf and that she could easily take the petite woman down. And really there's no need. Her job isn't to take the woman down.

"Right this way." Leah moved from in front of the doorway and gestured inside.

The woman entered the dark apartment slowly.

"Don't worry. I'm the only one who lives here and the apartment sure as heck won't bite."

The woman gave a small chuckle. "I know, I'm just…"

"Being cautious. I get it."

Leah flicked the light switch, revealing her tiny living room. In the area was a small, cream two seat couch, a short, black coffee table covered in magazines, bills and Kleenex tissues and a flat screen TV on a tall black table.

As Luca and his mother looked around the room, Leah walked passed them and through an opening leading to her kitchen. She flipped the switch in there as well. She almost wished she hadn't since the place was a mess. There were plates and cups in the sink and a leftover frying pan from that night's dinner on the stove. The granite counters, like the coffee table in the living room, were covered in random objects. Bills, flyers, keys, even a chocolate turtle neck (discarded that evening when she got home from work) hung from one her open cabinet doors.

"My room's back that a way." Leah stated as she gestured behind herself carelessly when the woman finally joined her in the kitchen. The woman of course gave her a look when she saw the state of the kitchen.

Leah gave a guilty smile. "I suck at keeping this place clean."

"No judgment here."

"Good. Oh and the only bathroom is in my room as well. You can shower if you want."

"We're not dirty." The woman's face held a grimace. Leah knew that if Luca weren't in her arms she would have had her arms crossed as well.

"I didn't mean to offend you. I was just offering. Take it or don't take it. Doesn't matter to me."

The grimace fell from the woman's face as her features softened. "Sorry. I don't mean to be an ass. People just aren't…" She looked down at her tiny, sleepy son. "People fucking suck."

Leah smiled. "I know what you mean." She didn't feel the need to elaborate. No way in hell did this stranger need to be burdened with a long sad tale about lost boyfriends, backstabbing cousins, and immature teenage boys. Especially when Leah didn't consider her probably as nearly as serious.

"Senalda."

"What?"

"That's my name. Senalda."

"Leah."

After their little introduction Senalda headed into the shower with Luca and Leah busied herself with setting out pajamas for the two. Leah left a pair of plain, light blue pajamas out for Senalda and an Eyore t-shirt for Luca.

As Leah left the room she grabbed her green throw blanket and a pillow off the bed and called out, "Pajamas are on the bed, I'll be on the couch if you need me."

Leah did not fall asleep until about an hour after Senalda and Luca got out of the shower. She listened to them for a long time. First she heard the shower stop. Then the sound of Senalda softly singing a lullaby in Spanish to the boy as she dried, lotioned and dressed him. She heard her tuck him into the bed, whispering to him "Mi corazon." The boy's breathing was deep and even.

Leah heard when Senalda climbed into the bed beside the boy but she did not hear the other woman fall sleep until long after. When she finally did hear her deep breathing, Leah's eyes shut almost instantly she was so tired.

* * *

_BEEP!_

_BEEP!_

_BEEP!_

A barely awake Senalda (her eyes were still closed), reached a hand onto the bedside table, clumsily slapping it around until her fingers finally hit the snooze button on Leah's iphone. After the irritating thing was finally silenced, Senalda snuggled Luca, who was laying against her chest, closer to her body and then relaxed further into the bed.

Suddenly, Senalda popped up again. Her eyes were wide and her face held a confused expression.

Where they hell was she?

It took a moment for the events of the previous night (technically morning) to come back to her. Her face fell into her hands.

"No, no, no." Senalda groaned in her hands. "So fucking stupid!"

Senalda took Luca in her arms and carefully crawled out of the bed, doing her best not to wake the boy. She slipped on her gray New Balances sitting by the bed and then grabbed her black bag off of the floor before she quietly made her way out of the room and down the hall toward the front door.

When she got to the living room and spotted a sleeping Leah, Senalda stopped in tracks.

Leah was sprawled out across the couch. One of her arms was hanging off of the couch and touching the floor and her feet were tangled in the cream blanket that had been previous wrapped around her body. Leah looked incredibly uncomfortable.

Senalda couldn't help but remember that Leah was uncomfortable because of her.

"Mama?"

Senalda's eyes instantly looked down at her sleepy son, who was dressed in a large Eyore shirt. She almost groaned when she realized that that was another thing that Leah had done for them and here she was about to leave the house without even a goodbye or thank you.

"Hungry." The little boy whined.

Then suddenly an idea occurred to Senalda. Maybe there was a way should could pay Leah back.

"Okay baby."

Senalda turned around and walked into the kitchen, her shoulder's sunk when she noticed the mess from the night before. Her eyes settled on the turtleneck hanging off of the cabinet door.

"You're going to have to wait on that breakfast, Luc." Senalda stated as she put the little boy down. "Mama's gotta clean up a bit first."

* * *

The next morning Leah woke with a start.

"Shit!" She yelped as she jumped off the couch. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

"Regret letting us stay already?" Senalda leaned against the archway leading to the kitchen. She was smirking and her dark eyes were glowing with amusement at Leah's previous outburst.

"N-no." Leah half-stuttered, half-groaned as she looked into the other woman's eyes, almost getting lost in them. "It's just that I'm probably late for work is all."

"Oh, well it's only 7."

Leah groaned again. "I haven't slept less than six hours since I was a young teenager."

Senalda laughed. "I never slept less than 10!"

"Lucky you." Leah's head cocked as she caught a whiff of something in the air. "Is that pancakes."

Senalda smirked again. "Yup." Then her smirked dropped and it was replaced by a more apologetic look. "I mean…sorry about going through your cabinets without permission."

Leah snorted. "Are you kidding me? You made pancakes, that's pretty fucking awesome."

"Good," Senalda was smiling again. "There's two in the kitchen with your name on them."

Leah groans again. "I can't I have to be to work by 8."

"That sucks."

"But we could meet for lunch."

"Lunch?"

"Yeah. I work at Johns Hopkins. They have some of the best food in the café. Or we could go to Lexington Market and pick up something to eat." Leah began to get excited. It had been a long time since she got to spend time with other people. So long that she didn't even notice that Senalda seemed a little bewildered by the idea. "I could leave some cash for you guys to take the metro down and I could meet you outside of the station."

Leah almost couldn't believe what she was doing. She was asking a stranger and her child to come meet her at her job, leaving said strangers alone in her home for several hours at first as well. Was she crazy? Maybe.

Although she seemed very reluctant, Senalda nodded. "Okay."

"I'm going to go run and take a shower. You guys continue to make yourselves at home."

Senalda barely had to time get out a thank you before Leah took off toward the bedroom.

* * *

At 12:30 pm, Leah sat outside of the Johns Hopkins metro stop looking up and down the sidewalk. She and Senalda were supposed to meet 30 minutes ago and so far she hadn't seen a sign of the other woman.

"Damn it," Leah cursed. "Should have known better!" After waiting so long Leah had finally accepted the reality of the situation. As she turned to head back towards the hospital, she heard someone call her name.

"LEAH! LEAH, WAIT!"

Running down the sidewalk with a toddler bouncing on her hip, was Senalda.

Leah froze in place, watching as the other woman ran towards her. When Senalda reached her, Leah just stared.

The other woman was very sweaty, her dark curls were damp and stuck to her forehead, and she was breathing heavily. Luca, who was being gripped tightly to Senalda's hip, was patting his mother's cheek and chanting, "Fast mama, fast mama!"

Leah couldn't help but smile at the two.

Senalda's dark eyes focused on Leah's. Even though she was hot, sweaty and completely out of breath, she smiled back at Leah and breathed out a, "Hey."

"Hey."

* * *

**A/N:** So this is revised chapter 1. It's pretty similar to the original but it has a little more detail. Anyway I hope everyone enjoyed reading and any feedback would be greatly appreciated :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.

* * *

"Mommy, why is the sky blue?"

Leah looked down and to the right, her eyes resting on the top of Luca's head. She was holding the little boy's hand as they walked away from his preschool and toward the apartment building they lived in.

"Hmmm?"

"The sky, mommy!" A large, brilliant smile was stretched across Luca's face, exposing the dimples on his big, chubby cheeks. His bright brown eyes, almost covered by the mass of dark curls on his head, were glowing with excitement. "Why is it blue?" Luca's reached his free hand out towards the sky, his little tan fingers spreading apart as if he were clawing at the clouds in the sky.

Leah tapped her chin with her free hand. "Hmmm…I don't know." She looked away from the boy then, staring straight ahead as they began to walk again.

Luca's shoulders slumped and his little arms fell back to his sides. Leah gently took his hand in hers again.

A couple of paces down the sidewalk, Luca perked up again. He stopped walking and pointed into the street.

"Mommy! How do trucks work?"

Leah looked away from the boy and towards a garbage truck making its way down the street. She contemplated the truck for a moment before turning back to Luca and shrugging her shoulders.

"Hmmm…I don't know." A tiny grin played across her lips.

Luca crossed his tiny arms across his chest and glared up at her.

"Why is the grass green?"

Leah's grin grew. "I don't know."

"Why don't people have tails?"

"I don't know."

"Why can't dogs talk?"

"I don't know."

"Why don't you know?"

Leah's grin stretched ear to ear now. "I don't know."

Luca huffed, Leah mimicked the action much to the little boy's annoyance.

"Do you love me?" Luca asked with an eyebrow raised dubiously.

Leah bent down to his level, the grin falling from her face as she leaned in so close to his face that her nose was almost touching his. The boy gulped before gasping loudly. Leah had reached out, swooping the boy up into the air before she began spinning him around wildly.

"I do, I do, I do!" Leah yelled as she spun the now giggling boy around. After a moment Leah settled Luca on her hip and she began walking toward the apartment again.

"I don't know why the sky is blue nor why the grass is green. How trucks works, about tailless dudes or speechless dogs but I do know one things for certain and true: I love you."

Luca nestled into Leah's neck, planting a kiss there. "I love you too, mommy."

Leah smiled down at the boy. "I know."

"LUCA! LEAH!"

Leah's eyes instantly settled on Senalda. Like Luca, Senalda's hair was a mop of dark curls and she had a smile that was all cheeks and dimples. Currently, she was standing outside of their apartment building waving at the two as they walked towards her.

Leah stopped to let Luca down and then watched as the boy ran towards Senalda. When he reached her, he jumped into her arms.

"Hi mama!" He said with a big smile plastered on his face. "Leah doesn't know anything."

"What?" Even as Senalda held Luca, she was staring after Leah who was just approaching.

"Don't ask, it's a long story." Leah said with a playful grin aimed at Luca.

Senalda rolled her eyes and smiled back. Sometimes she could not believe how well Leah and Luca got on, it made her happy though that the three blended so seamlessly. They were a happy little family and she loved it that way.

"Whatever." Then Senalda's attention was back on her son. "Why don't we get inside and we can get started on your homework?"

Luca's face fell. "TV first?"

Senalda shook her head. "Nope, now come on. Mama's not going to argue with you."

Leah smiled at the two before stating, "I'm going to check the mail, meet you guys inside."

"Alright."

With that, Senalda led Luca up a set of steps to their apartment. Leah could hear her ask the boy about how his day at school was before she headed into the apartment building hallway toward the mailboxes.

The mail, like most days, was mostly empty. It held two letters. One was Capitol One offering a credit card to Senalda. The other letter, however was not the normal junk mail, flier or bills she was used to pulling out. The letter made Leah gasp. The hand writing on the envelope was the most familiar thing she had ever seen in her life and even if the hand writing wasn't recognizable the address, a location in La Push, was a damn good give away.

Leah ripped the letter open furiously. Angry that they had found her, angry that after 3 years they were still bothering her. Her eyes quickly scanned over the letter. Her mind screaming: "WHAT THE HELL DO THEY WANT?!"

And all of that anger. The hot, burning rush of rage that was building inside of her and threatening to explode vanished. It vanished with three words. Three terrible words in that horrible letter, the letter that should have dropped from her hands from the utter shock that the three words had caused. And it would have if she hadn't been gripping it so tight to the point of almost ripping it.

_Seth. Dead. Funeral._

When Leah got inside the apartment she grabbed Senalda, almost violently, before she began to kiss her over and over and over again. Even though Senalda would have been happy to kiss her back for however long Leah wanted, she pulled away from her sensing that something was off. Dark eyes searched brown ones frantically.

"Leah," Senalda asked worriedly. "Leah, what's wrong?"

Leah's eyes were wet, she was fighting to keep back the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks. "W-we have to go to Washington." Leah's voice sounded strangled. "Se-." She couldn't even say his name. "My brother's dead."

Senalda immediately pulled Leah into her arms again, the two falling to the floor, and began rubbing her back gently and planting dozens of kisses on the top of her head.

"He's dead." Leah sobbed into Senalda's shoulder. "Seni, he's dead."

"It's okay. It's going to be okay." Senalda whispered into Leah's ear as she rocked her back and forth in her arms. "It's all going to be okay."


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **

I have revised chapters 1 and 2. 1 is only slightly different and the whole beginning of chapter two is completely different.

This chapter ended up being a little bit different than what I had planned. Originally, Seth's funeral and a little more pack interaction was supposed to happen this chapter but I decided to put that off until chapter 4. So the story will now probably be seven chapters rather than the six I planned for.

Happy reading, hope you guys enjoy and please review :)!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.

* * *

The drive from William Fairchild International airport to the Clearwater family home in La Push is silent.

They do not talk about this. Ever.

For the last 3 years Senalda has not asked. Not about La Push, the Clearwaters', or the unruly pack of immature boys Leah once "ran" with.

Leah does not ask either. Not about Philly, the Del Mars', or the sweet, dead, very dead young man who shares Luca's bright brown eyes and his warm dimpled smile.

Senalda is okay with this. The past is a raw ball of pain that lives deep within her. She knows that it is the same for Leah. They do not talk about it. She believes (firmly) that the past should not always be dwelled upon.

Some things should just be left alone.

Senalda glances over at Leah. The teary eyed woman is nestled in the passenger seat staring straight ahead. Senalda places a hand on her thigh, giving her a comforting squeeze and a small smile when their eyes meet. Leah returns her smile weakly before focusing her eyes on the road before them again.

In the backseat of the rental car, Luca is slumped over in his blue Graco booster seat. They can hear him snoring peacefully.

"Take the next right. It's the last house on the left."

In another world, one where a dead brother wasn't involved, Senalda would have laughed at Leah's unintentional movie reference. Instead she nods and does as told, making the right and driving to the end of the street.

The little house is a faded yellow and it is buried in the shade of weeping willows. Senalda can see Leah's life here. In each window of the house she can make out a scene, a little moment in her beloved's life. Family dinners at the worn, wooden dining room table that can be seen from a first story window. Fights with a younger brother, whom Senalda images to look just like Leah, on a stairwell in the middle second story window. And Leah laying down to bed, awaiting happy dreams, in the last window to the right on the second floor. It's the room with purple walls.

"This is it." Leah states quietly.

But it isn't. The quiet little house at the end of the quiet little neighborhood is far (so very, very far) from being it.

Leah offers Senalda a weary smile and she cringes.

"Don't do that." Leah's head drops, she stares down at her feet. "It's not real." Senalda sighed deeply. "He…your brother died and it's okay to be sad and broken about it."

"But I'm not sad, I'm angry." Tears are streaming down Leah's face as she meets Senalda's eyes again.

Although Senalda suspects that it is truly both, she doesn't say a word.

"He watched while they treated me like shit and didn't do a damn thing. Hell, sometimes he agreed." Leah took a heavy rattling breath. "He acted like I was ruining his fun or something. I was not good enough for him even when I was just trying to protect him."

Senalda did not respond for a long moment. She was digging inside of herself for something long buried.

"Little brothers are bastards." She finally spoke. She should know, she had three. Three little annoying boys with the same dark, mirror like eyes. "One afternoon, when I was sixteen years old, Angel and Markez came to me and asked me to make them some chocolate pudding."

Leah's eyes widened at her words. They never talked about their "lost" families. They never knew names of parents or siblings or numbers. They knew just that somewhere they existed.

"They said, 'If you make us this pudding, we'll love you forever.' They looked so sweet. So I did it. While I was making them the pudding they snuck into my room and stole my bras and underwear. And sold them…to all the boys in the neighborhood. They wanted to buy a video game or something."

Senalda paused for a moment before suddenly bursting into laughter. Leah looked at her oddly, momentarily distracted from her grief. "You know, they didn't even let me play it." She finally stated breathlessly, answering Leah's silent question.

Leah began to laugh then. "Really?"

"Yes! Sold my bras and panties and wouldn't even let me play."

Leah laughed harder and Senalda slapped her shoulder playfully. "It's not funny."

"But it is!" Leah argued.

"Nope."

"Uh huh."

Senalda crossed her arms, pretending to pout.

Leah ignored her. "What game was it? I mean it had to be pretty damn special if they went as far as selling their own sisters underpants and bras."

"Grand theft auto. San Andreas or something."

"What happened to them?" Senalda can sense that Leah is really asking two things but there is only one way Senalda can answer.

"The usual, papa beat their asses. I got sent to mi abuela's. I sat crying in her arms asking her over and over how could they do something like this to me and she told me," Senalda stopped, smiling brilliantly at Leah. "She said, 'Little brothers are bastards.'."

Leah smiled back; it was real this time.

"Ungrateful, merciless bastards who suck away at your very being while also pulling at your heart strings."

"I think your abuela was on to something."

Senalda chuckled. "Yeah she was. Anyway, I told her, 'Not Lucas!'."

"Lucas?"

"My youngest brother. He went around the whole block threatening boys and getting my stuff back. My parents messed up, he should have been Angel."

Leah nodded. "I think Seth was a combination. He went between being a sweet kid and a nasty little shit. The latter mostly directed towards me."

Senalda placed a hand on her shoulder and grinned. "Bastards."

Leah grinned back. "Basta-."

"LEAH!"

Leah groaned instantly. She knew that voice all too well.

Senalda gave her shoulder a squeeze and mouthed, "You can do it."

Leah reluctantly stepped out of the rental car and greeted her cousin, Emily. Behind her, she could hear as Senalda exited the car as well and opened one of the back doors.

"Emily." Leah stated quietly, taking her cousin in.

The other woman hadn't changed much in the last three years. She had the same beautiful angular face that was framed by her long, black, glossy hair. The scar that once marred her features seemed to be fading; it no longer stood out on her face. The one thing that almost made Leah gape was her large, rounded belly. It looked like the woman would give birth at any second.

Emily sniffled, her eyes suddenly filling with tears. "I wanted you to come home, to be here with all of us, but not like this."

Sam who's been standing behind Emily takes her in his arms, rubbing his hands down gently down her sides.

Leah closed her eyes and took a deep breath, attempting to settle herself. "I know. I didn't want it to be this way either."

"I'm sorry." Leah looks to Sam then. He doesn't look like he's been crying but he doesn't look like he's been happy either. "I should have kept him safe, I'm sorry Leah."

Leah can see that he truly means it, that he's truly sorry. And that old feeling of wanting to explode from pure rage dies. It died a long time ago but today, she knows for certain that it's truly gone.

"Shit happens."

Senalda steps forward then, Luca snuggled in her arms. "Hello." She says quietly.

"Sam, Emily this is my wife, Senalda Del Mar and our son, Luca."

Sam and Emily's eyes grow wide at the announcement, both startled into silence. Emily recovers first, stepping forward and offering her hand.

"Hello, I'm Emily Uley. Nice to meet you."

Senalda puts Luca down before taking Emily's free hand and offering her a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you as well."

"Uh, I'm Sam…Uley." The tall, muscled man seems shaken.

Senalda barely notices. Sam's scent, a mixture of wolf and testosterone, almost makes her recoil. It's very strong on the male unlike Leah. Senalda quickly surmises that it's because Leah barely shifts while Sam smells like he just came out of the woods. Senalda also realizes (just by giving the air another long whiff) that it's not just his scent clinging to his body. She knew that wolves usually ran together; Leah was a rarity.

"I'm very sorry this is how we have to meet." Senalda looked towards Leah sadly. "When she got the letter in the mail, it looked like she had died."

"I can only image." Emily said, her eyes tearing up again. "All of us took it pretty hard. No one more than Sue though."

"Is she inside?" Leah asks quietly. Senalda gives her shoulder a squeeze.

"Yeah." Sam answers. "She hasn't really left the house since…"

"Mommy?" Sam and Emily's eyes immediately fall to Luca. "Who's house is that?" The small boy points towards the Clearwater residence.

"My mother's."

"Mi abuela?"

Leah smiles down at him. "Si."

* * *

Sue Clearwater sits in her kitchen staring out of the window above the sink into the woods. She had been through a lot.

The death of her husband, Harry. She didn't have time to fall apart when it happened. She still had two kids at home, two people who depended on her.

Two werewolf children. She had never expected this. It was pure heartache knowing that she could lose them at any moment.

The departure of her daughter, Leah. She doesn't even know if she had wanted to prevent this. The girl had been terribly unhappy. Wishing her all the best, instead of cursing her, is probably what Sue should have done.

The death of her son, Seth. Nothing, she felt nothing. Her youngest, her baby, was dead and she felt nothing. Worst she feared at happen. What was left?

Now she just sat here. Of course she had received visitors. For the last couple of days she had had dozens of them. From various friends and family members, Seth's pack mates, the elders, and her neighbors. So when she hears the knock on the front door, she expects much of the same.

Instead, Sue's barreled over by a tiny boy with a mop of dark curls, light brown eyes and a warm, friendly smile. She looks down at him shocked and the boy's smile only seems to grow.

"Hola, mi abuela!" He shouts.

Before she can say a word to the boy, she goes speechless at the sound of Leah's voice.

"Hello mother."

Sue looks up at her daughter standing in the doorway. Sam, Emily and an unknown woman behind her.

"Leah."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **

I'm going to leave you guys to guess what's going on with Senalda. Also, I suck at writing emotional funeral scenes.

***Didn't do a ton of editing some there are probably quite a few mistakes. Sorry in advance.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.

* * *

"Wife?"

Leah rolls her eyes at her mother, while Senalda stands away from them, trying not to laugh at the shocked expression on Sue's face.

"Wife?" Sue questions again, confusion and shock etched all across her face. Emily and Sam copy her look, finally able to express their true feelings about the Senalda situation. "But you're not gay."

Leah groans and Senalda allows herself to laugh openly. Sue shoots a look at Senalda and the other woman offers her a grin. Luca tugs at his birthmother's side, begging to be let in on the joke.

"I'm bisexual and we're not talking about this. I'm here for Seth." She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, settling herself again. When Leah opens her eyes again, her mother only sees raw determination there. For a moment it's the Leah Sue used to know, the one who ran away. "I'm here for Seth for the last time I can be."

Sue sighs, tears beginning to fall from her eyes. "Tomorrow we're going to put him in the ground and that's it. No more Seth." She was sobbing now, her grief spilling out of her.

Before Leah or Emily can move comfort her, Luca is crawling into her lap and snuggling against her.

"It's okay, my most beautiful abuela, it's okay." Luca coos softly as he pats Sue's back gently.

Sue grips Luca tightly to her chest. For a moment she thinks of Seth as a little boy; tiny, innocent and sweet.

After a moment Sue loosens her grip on the boy and moves him so that they are face to.

"Luca?"

"Si, most beautiful abuela, the most handsome Luca at your service." The boy proclaims triumphantly.

Senalda shoots a look at Leah. The one that says, "You've made our son conceited by telling him how cute he is all the time." Leah shrugs back guiltily.

The moment between the two women is paused, when they hear Sue's laughter. Emily and Sam are especially surprised to hear the sound.

"Are you hungry?" Sue is smiling now.

Luca shrugs. "I could eat."

Sue laughs again. "How about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

Leah smiles, Seth's favorite.

Luca began to wiggle in her lap. "Yes! Yes!"

Soon, Sue and Luca are up fiddling around the kitchen in their quest to make the perfect peanut butter and jelly while Leah, Senalda, Sam and Emily watch them in awe.

"She hasn't been this…alive in days." Emily comments. "Rachel and I came by the other day to bring food and she was just sitting here in the kitchen. She was staring out of the window, like she was waiting for Seth to come running out of the woods."

"H-how was she when she found out?" Leah asks quietly.

"She completely fell apart." Sam answers.

"You told her?"

Sam breaths deeply through his mouth like he's trying to clear a lump there. Emily grabs his arm and pulls him close.

"Leah…"

Leah ignores Emily, her eyes focused on Sam. "Who told her?"

"Embry." He answers quietly. "We saw his thoughts later."

Leah nods. "Call was a good choice."

Sam and Emily are both surprised; they expected her to call Sam a coward. Her calmness and acceptance of his decision is bewildering.

"You guys should go." Leah states before Sam or Emily can say anything else. "We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow and I'm pretty sure we all could use some sleep."

Sam nods. "Alright." Then he turns to Senalda. "It was nice meeting you." Emily states the same.

Senalda gives them her best smile. "It was nice to meet you two as well."

Sue barely acknowledges the Uleys' departure, she's too engrossed in her little meal and conversation with Luca.

"Tomorrow." Emily states as they exit.

"Tomorrow." Leah repeats as she shuts the door on them. When she hears their car drive off, Leah leans her back against the door and slides to the floor, resting her head on her knees. She only looks up again when she feels a weight settle beside her.

Dark eyes stared into brown ones.

"Tomorrow is not the day that hurts, it's the day after that takes your breath away." Senalda's dark eyes are sad and distant. "Tomorrow is easy."

"Is that supposed to cheer me up?"

"No. It didn't cheer me up either but it was true all the same."

They sit there, quietly staring into each other's eyes, until they heard Sue and Luca calling for them, pulling them back into reality.

* * *

"We gather here today in the wake of a great tragedy. Someone has been lost to us…"

Leah could barely make out the words being spoken. So many thoughts were running through her mind.

_How could this happen?_

_Why did this happen?_

_How could I let this happen?_

_How could I not be here?_

_How could I not be here?_

_HOW COULD I NO-_

Leah feels Senalda grip her hand tightly. She looks toward the other woman with teary eyes before leaning (more like collapsing) into her side. The dress Senalda wears acts like a black curtain hiding Leah from the world. Content for the moment, Leah closes her eyes and breaths deeply trying to calm herself and stop her tears.

"It's okay, querida." Senalda whispers. "He's your brother, there's no shame in crying for your brother."

It's not the time but Leah wants to ask again, the question Senalda has already avoided once before. What happened to them? What happened to your brothers?

She pushes the thoughts away, instead choosing to bury herself deeper into Senalda's side.

"This young man was innocent, kind-hearted and just…"

Leah cringes as Old Quil, the elder presiding over the burial, speaks. They would no longer say his name, not for a long time at least.

Sue, who stands beside Leah and Senalda with Luca wrapped tightly in her arms, sobs quietly. The little boy in her arms rubs her face gently.

Leah images her mother feels the same as she does about the name thing. Every part of the boy they once knew is now gone, in body and in name.

Senalda grips her tighter and whispers something. Leah faintly hears the end of her words, "…en su gloria."

Of course the pack was gathered at the gravesite as well. They stood with Sam and Emily. The younger pack members didn't know much in the way of the past but just like the older members (Paul, Quil, Jared and Embry) they leered at Leah with contempt. Leah doesn't glance at them, she doesn't want to deal with their blame. Senalda does manage a glare in their direction though.

"While we may feel sad about the passing of this young man, today is not a day to mourn. We are here to say goodbye and to celebrate his life."

With that the service ends and suddenly Leah is dragged into another form of hell: the funeral reception at the Uley house.

* * *

Senalda stands in the doorway of Sam and Emily's house. The stench flowing out of the house is overwhelming to her.

"Seni?" Leah questions, placing a hand on Senalda's shoulder. The other woman looks completely startled.

"Huh?"

"I was asking if you were going to come inside. Luca and my mother are already going for the food."

Senalda tried to smile in place of the cringe her features really wanted to form, but Leah still sees through it.

"You told me I wasn't being real yesterday, now today I'm going to say the same. This isn't you. What's up?"

"It stinks!"

"It stinks?" Leah looks utterly confused.

"Yes! All I can smell is wolf, testosterone and sweat. I can't stand it!"

"Really? Because, you don't act like this at home." Leah grinned then. "Not at all."

"It's not the same. I can barely smell you. With them," Senalda glares towards the entrance of the house and Leah looks as well, like suddenly the mystery surrounding her wife's distress will be revealed. "It's like they constantly run through the fucking woods having no shirt parties in the damn river!"

All confusion leaves Leah and suddenly she turns very serious. "Trust me, they do."

"_Trust me_ when I say I don't doubt it."

A moment of silence passes between the two. Senalda stares into the entrance of the Uley house and Leah stares at Senalda.

"We can't stay out here for long."

"I know." Senalda's eyes stay trained on the entrance.

Another long, silent moment passes between them.

"We have to go in."

"I know."

The decision is soon taken out of Senalda's hands. Paul comes to stand in the doorway, glaring at the them. Annoyed that he's been made to come get the two and angry that he has to spend even a second away from Rachel.

"Are you two going to come inside or what?"

Leah glares back and growls out, "Give us a moment."

"Look, everyone is waiting for you two to get your asses in the damn house. No one wants to sit around while you have a sacred meeting of the dykes on the front porch." Paul growls back.

Senalda's gaze focuses on Paul, nothing but pure rage emanating from her dark eyes. "So that's how you talk at his funeral? You insult his sister barely an hour after he's put into the ground?"

"She abandoned him!" Paul's face is growing red, his body trembling slightly.

"And you let him die." In Senalda's eyes, two can play Paul's game.

Paul growls at her and Senalda hisses back at him, much to the man's surprise.

"Stop it!" Even though her words or directed at both of them, Leah only focuses on Paul. "Get in the house. We'll be there in a minute."

Paul turns and goes, not before throwing Senalda the finger though. He can't take Leah's order without even a little defiance, of course.

"Pendejo." Senalda spits.

Leah takes her hand. "Come on, we need to go inside."

Senalda nods and follows Leah inside.

They quickly find Sue and Luca, sitting on a couch in the living room. The little boy is sitting on Sue's lap with a plate of fruit in his hands. The two of them chatting away about everything and nothing.

Leah notices immediately that only the pack members are in the living room. The only wolves in the room are the ones that Leah knows and remembers. Sam, Jared, Paul, Quil and Embry. Jacob did not show, nothing could detach him from his imprint and the Cullens. The rest of the guests (a combination of humans and the younger wolves) are outside, milling about in the backyard.

"Senalda," Sue pipes up when she spots Leah and her enter the room. "Why don't you take Luca outside for some dessert?" Luca beams at his mother, now restless and anticipating a sweet.

Leah (and Senalda) realizes immediately that they want Senalda and Luca out of the room. What for, she can only guess. Even though Senalda would rather be outside and away from the stench, she's seems hell bent on staying to find out herself.

"A fine idea! Run along, Luca." Senalda says with a smile, aimed at Sue. The older woman almost glares at her, the kiss that Luca plants on her cheek before running off prevents her from doing so.

Sam eyes Leah. "There are some things we need to discuss and it would be best if Senalda left."

Senalda rolls her eyes at him. "If it's about wolf slash pack business save it, I know."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Paul shouts at Leah. "You told her?"

"Calm down Paul." Jared states in the background. Leah finds this odd. Ever since imprinting, Paul seemed rather calm.

Paul looks at him alarmed. "She told and she didn't have the right to!"

Leah closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Eyes still closed, she states, "I didn't tell her."

"Bullshit." No one else says a word but Leah could tell the others in the room agreed with his disbelief.

"Oh, fuck off!" Senalda. Leah takes some pride in the woman's fire.

Paul growls at Senalda again and she follows with her previous response, a hard hiss in his direction. And again, he backs up in shock.

Senalda doesn't step away though. "Back off and stop disrespecting my wife." She says lowly.

"She doesn't deserve anyone's respect! She walked out on the pack and she abandoned her own damn brother! And now she's parading this bitch a.k.a you around La Push."

"That's enough!" Sue states as she stands up from the couch and tosses a glare in Paul's direction. "Today is not about your petty disagreements or Leah's relationship. Today is about Se-," She stops herself at his name. "My son. I don't want today to be this way."

"And it won't be." Sam states before turning to Jared. "Go take a walk with Paul, don't come back until he calms down." The two men waste no time in leaving the house.

Sue looks to Sam gratefully. "Thank you. And you!" Sue makes her way over to Senalda. "We're going to find that beautiful boy and then talk about not instigating fights."

"But Mama Clearwater!" Senalda pleades defensively as the older woman leads her towards the back door.

"No buts."

Before Leah can follow, she feels a hand wrap around her arm. She turned to face Sam.

"We need to talk."

* * *

**A/N:** Expect this chapter to be revised. I found it a little hard to write and will probably do better working on it later. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review :)!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:**

** Love Laugh Live Your Life:** Paul's statement was just supposed to be an insult to hurt Leah's feelings albeit thoughtless. I based Sue off of my great grandmother from when she lost her husband. She went between being herself and completely losing her shit.

** Ash: **Lmao, never thought of the Sam thing but it's hilarious!

Also, I didn't edit this too much. Sorry about that.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.

* * *

"I want you to take over as Alpha."

At the moment, Sam and Leah stood in the middle of the woods. Sam looking at Leah expectantly and Leah completely frozen. When Sam had asked her to talk the other day at Seth's funeral reception, this had been the last thing she had expected.

Leah was completely frozen. Her face took on this utterly horrified expression: Her eyes wider than she thought they could ever be and her mouth opening and closing rapidly as she struggled to respond.

"Don't be so surprised. You've been the best person for the job for a long time now."

Leah still stared at him. The words, take over as Alpha, were ringing over and over again in her mind.

"Besides, I have Emily and the baby and it's about time that I step down. I need to be there for my family."

And suddenly Leah has an epiphany. It shouldn't really be all that great of a realization though. It is so obvious that it has been staring her in the face this entire time.

"And you don't want to die like my brother. So someone else, _anyone else_, taking your place would do." Leah looks him straight in the eyes, daring him to deny it.

Sam just stares back at her, unable to deny it completely.

Leah closes her eyes and takes several deep breaths; searching within herself for understanding. Sam watches her carefully, expecting her to explode at any moment.

"Look, I get it. Okay?" Leah stated after several minutes. "Wife, new baby, just starting your life and you don't want it to be over before you can enjoy it."

Sam's shoulders sagged with relief and he smiled brightly. "Exactly. I don't want to leave my wife and kid behind." Then tentatively, like it's something that he had never really said aloud before, "Like my father."

"I get all that, I really do," Leah stresses carefully. "But I don't understand why you think me of all people would be a good fit considering that I have the same issue. I don't even live here anymore."

Sam cocks his head, a confused expression taking over his face. "The same issue?"

"Yes, the same issue." When Sam still continues to stare at her, Leah growls out, "Senalda, Luca, the house I bought two weeks ago!"

"But, they don't…they don't…"

And another realization hits Leah hard across the face.

"But they don't count, right? RIGHT?"

"That's not what I was saying." Leah notices that the guilty look he wears doesn't seem to agree with the words he says.

"Oh save it! I've heard what the town and the pack have been saying."

"You haven't even been here for three full days. How would you know what people are saying?"

"Are you kidding me? La Push is worse than a small town down south! All it took was for me to run down to the general store near my mom's house for eggs to know what people are saying. About me, about Senalda," Her gaze grew hard. "About Luca."

"Leah pleas-." Sam tried desperately but again he was cut off.

"I'm not Quil Ateara," She stated the words through gritted teeth. "Children aren't my thing."

Sam's eyes bugged out. "How did you even hear about that?"

"Rachel Black. She called to have Paul apologize and then she went into an entire rant about the pack's bullshit, as she called it."

"Rachel made Paul apologize?"

"I told her it was pointless. I respect Paul for being honest, he had the balls to say it to my face and not behind my back."

"We didn't mean it in a bad way."

"I don't care. Right now we're talking about how my family and my life is so inferior that you're willing to use us as a scapegoat so you can enjoy your life with Emily."

"That's not what I was saying!"

"Then what are you saying?"

"If you'd just hear me out, I'd tell you!" When Leah didn't argue back, he continued. "I meant it when I said that you were the best person for the job. You're trustworthy, loyal…even when you're not treated the best." Sam sighs. "You truly are the best for the job and you truly deserve it too."

"Senalda would never agree to this and I don't want to do this."

"She shouldn't stop you from fulfilling your duty to the tribe and your pack."

"So you're saying I should leave her to do this? Something that I don't want to do?" Sam didn't say a word. "Would you leave Emily if it interfered with your duty to the tribe and to the pack?"

Sam shook his head. "It's not the same. Emily is my imprint."

"And Senalda loves me because she chooses and not because she's forced." Leah was resolute. "I'm not sacrificing my love or my family for this pack."

Sam was shocked, he couldn't believe what he was hearing. "But it's your duty, Leah! Someone has to do this!"

"You!" Leah screeched back. "It's your job, you idiot!"

"Not forever. It can't be forever. Emily and my child need me."

"And Senalda and Luca need me."

"This pack needs you first. The pack needs you to be alpha." There was a hard edge to Sam's voice.

"If I wasn't still attached to Jacob, would that have been an alpha order?"

Sam choose to ignore her words, instead continuing in his previous direction. "I'll give you a couple of days to consider it and to make arrangements."

Leah stared at Sam for a long moment. "You don't hear me. Why don't you ever hear me, Sam Uley?" Her words were quiet, damn near a whisper, and solemn. Sam seemed completely taken aback by them.

"Lea-." And like the other times before, he was swiftly cut off.

"I am done. I am done sacrificing myself for the wants and needs of you and Emily. I am so, so done."

Leah turned and walked away, ignoring Sam's calls for her to return.

* * *

Sam stood on the edge of the road, watching as Leah climbed into the silver Honda Accord she and Senalda had rented at the airport when the first arrived in Washington. He noticed that Leah's face lit up and that her lips instantly curved into a bright smile when her eyes fell on Senalda. The effect was mutual, Senalda couldn't help but smile when she saw Leah as well.

Sam did not move from the side of the road, instead he choose to watch the intimate moment unfolding between the two.

Senalda's face dipped into Leah's neck, her nose gliding along the smooth skin as she took a whiff of the other woman. She pulled back instantly, failing at hiding the grimace she now wore.

Sam's ears perked up as he heard Senalda shout, "You stink!" He did not expect Leah to laugh at the statement or for her to look utterly happy as she did so.

"Sam hugged me when we first me up. Shocked the hell out of me." Leah stated as she stopped laughing.

Senalda's nose scrunched up and she muttered, "Ick!"

Then much to Leah's surprise, Senalda head butted her (not hard) in the chest before nuzzling and rubbing up her body with her face and hair. Leah began to laugh again, the sensation tickling her. Sam looked wide-eyed at the two, unsure of what to think of the situation.

When Senalda was done with Leah, she looked up at the other woman with a self-satisfied grin on her face. "Better."

"Oh really?" Leah questioned as she moved closer to Senalda and cupped her face in her hands. Her eyes were trained on Senalda's plump pink lips.

Senalda's grin grew. "Of course, you smell like me now."

Leah closed the distance between the two immediately. Outside, Sam was slowing retreating back into the woods, already regretting his decision to watch the two. He could only imagine how the pack was going to react when they saw his thoughts later.

* * *

Senalda and Leah sat outside of the Clearwater house, the rental car turned off and parked in the driveway. Neither woman really felt like going inside of the house yet. For Leah, it was missing something, someone. To Senalda, it felt like a trap waiting to engulf the life she and Leah had built together.

"Do you think your mom knows?" Senalda asked quietly. Leah had informed her of Sam's intentions on the drive over.

Leah didn't look at Senalda, her gaze was focused on the house. "Of course she does."

Senalda nods. "I get it." Leah turned to her then but she did not say a word. Senalda felt compelled to continue. "When I was almost 17 there was a fire in the apartment building we lived in. We lived on the top floor and they did not make it down." Leah did not have to ask who they were. Three boys. "I had went to the corner store up the street…and then a friend's house. My father was already at the bar. He broke when my mother died."

"Senalda, I'm so sorry." That was all Leah could think to say. What do you say? Leah sure as hell didn't know.

"Thanks but don't be. That place should have been condemned years before our father moved us there. The fire escapes were down and there were no alarms in the building. Hell, a fire had happened the year before, the whole left side of the building was damaged because of it." Senalda sighed deeply. "What happened was bound to happen. Besides I wasn't the only one who lost."

"But it hurt like hell." Leah knows it now. Getting the letter about Seth's death hurt like hell. Watching him be put into the ground hurt like hell. Walking through their childhood home, sleeping in the room across from his, was like cutting her heart out of her chest with a dull knife.

Senalda offered her a weak smile, her dark, mirror eyes a little teary. "Of course."

"But if you can survive the day after." Leah began.

"You can survive the rest." Senalda completed.

A moment passed between the two before Senalda decided to finish.

"My grandmother found me after searching through a crowd of people outside of the building. She grabbed and held me close, thanking god for my life." Senalda closed her eyes then, breathing deeply, remembering. "She called me her beautiful little familiar and she told me that she never wanted to lose me. I could smell the desperation on her." Senalda opened her eyes then, staring straight at Leah. "Just like I can smell it on your mother, see it on her, when she looks at you."

Leah shook her head. "I can't do this for her. I want to be with you and Luca."

Senalda smiled sadly. "I know you do. But I don't want you to have regrets. I've lost a lot Leah and I don't want you to lose too."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:**

**Apocalypse owner: Q1: You shall see! Q2: I probably just mistyped somewhere. I'll go back and fix it later (#Imlazy)**

**Love Laugh Live Your Life: Paul doesn't really have an opinion, he's just an insult hurling ass…rest will be pm'd later. **

*****If this feels rushed (which it does to me) it probably is. I've had long shifts at work since the beginning of the month so I've had little time to write. When I do get to write I'm usually going as fast as I can. So sorry about.**

*****Sorry for the sloppy editing again.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight or any of the characters

* * *

"Are we there yet?"

Both Leah and Senalda groaned exaggeratedly before looking down at the small boy between them with identical grins.

"Not yet. How long do you think it'll be, Lee?"

Leah taps her chin. "Hmmm…I think twenty more years."

Luca's eyes grew wide as he looked down at himself. At the moment, the boy was barefoot and dressed in nothing but beige cargo shorts. When Sue had announced a trip to First Beach (the three were currently walking to meet her there) the boy had been too excited to put on anything else. His shirt and shoes, alongside Leah and Senalda's clothes and three beach towels, were tucked away in a gray backpack Senalda had strapped around her shoulders. If he wasn't going to wear something to the beach then he sure as heck was going to be dry and dressed for the walk back.

"But I'm half naked!"

Both Senalda and Leah burst into laughter.

"This is not funny mommas! I have nipples and they shouldn't be seen by everybody all the time for twenty years."

The boy's admonishment only made the two laugh harder.

"Did I say twenty years? I meant twenty minutes, probably less than that even." Leah stated, still laughing a little.

Luca glared at his mothers and continued to walk between them silently. However, his giving them the silent treatment did not last very long. As they walked near Leaf's General, the boy spotted at a sign for 99 cent soft serve ice cream and began to jump up and down.

"Mommas, mommas can I get some ice cream? Please, pretty please?"

Leah glanced at the general store. She caught the eyes of Robert Leaf, the store's owner, who was currently sweeping the front of the store. The man sneered at her. Leah had saw him a few days earlier when she had went to the general store to pick up eggs for Sue. Robert had asked her how she liked eating carpet. Needless to say, Leah forgot the eggs.

"Uh, no sweety. Maybe another time."

Luca pouted. "Why not this time, mommy?"

Senalda decided to step in then. She knew the reason and she knew that it made Leah angry. No need to provoke the wolf. "You're about to swim. Do you remember why we don't eat before swimming?"

Luca nodded his head back and forth vigorously, a bright smile lighting up his face. "Because you'll get cracks if you do and we only need one of those!"

Leah and Senalda both began laughing again, the upsetting moment completely forgotten.

* * *

When they reached First Beach they were almost immediately greeted by Sue.

"Leah, Senalda over here!"

Leah and Senalda smiled and waved as they made their way over to not only Sue, but Emily, Rachel and Claire. Leah was surprised to see the little girl without Quil glued to her side, the sight was very refreshing.

When they reached the group, the first greetings were between Claire and Luca.

"Luca!"

"Claire!"

The two children had met at the funeral reception the other day, they had hid under a buffet table together sharing cake.

"Tag you're it!" Claire shouted before hitting Luca's shoulder and running away. Luca wasted no time in running after her

"Well I guess we don't have to worry about them two getting along." Sue said smiling.

Leah smiled as well. "Luca's the best at making friends. His teacher says he has no issue in that department at all."

"I'm not surprised, kid's cute." Rachel stated before turning to Senalda. "And it's nice to meet you in person and when my husband's not apologizing."

Senalda laughed. "Nice to meet you too."

"Hi, Senalda!" Emily chirped. Senalda suppressed a hiss, she had only met Emily a few times but she, the woman and the cat, was sure there was nothing to like about her. "It's nice seeing you again."

"No, Emily, the pleasure's all mine."

Rachel snorted, Emily didn't seem to notice.

"It's sad that we all had to meet this way. That Leah was gone for so long."

In one sentence Emily changed the mood from slightly cheerful to bleak.

"It's okay though because I'm sure things are going to change now. No more tragic meetings."

Leah and Sue were stunned into silence. While Rachel and Senalda looked like they could kill.

"You're right, Emily," Rachel sounded more challenging than agreeable. "And it doesn't have to be some abrupt, irrational, _selfish_ decision."

Emily decided to ignore Rachel, focusing her attention on Leah.

"So, Leah have you thought about what you and Sam talked about?" Emily sounded way too eager. Both Leah and Senalda almost groaned. Luckily, Rachel stepped in again.

"Come on, Senalda," Rachel stated walking off in the direction of the children. "We can walk the beach and keep an eye on the kids."

Senalda looked to Leah, offering her a reassuring smile before following Rachel.

"So?" Emily asked again as the other two women wondered off.

Now Leah did groan. "I've already told Sam how I feel. I told him the same day we talked."

"And?" Leah groaned again, her cousin could be so dense sometimes.

"I don't want to be alpha."

"But Leah! I need Sam with me." Emily was stroking her swollen belly affectionately. "I need you here. My little girl's going to need a tough auntie to teach her as she grows up." Emily gave Leah her best smile.

Leah took a deep breath. Sometimes she didn't know how she kept from punching most of the people around her.

"I have a life and a family too, Emily. They don't stop existing because I came here."

"And do you remember why you came here?"

"Stop!" Sue stated, choosing to intervene before an argument broke out between the two.

"But Sue!"

"No! This not about my son and I won't have him used as a guilt trip when he's barely been in the ground for two days." Sue stared Emily down, daring the other woman to say a word. When it didn't seem like Emily would argue, she turned to Leah. "Sam made a request."

"Yes, a request and I've honored it. I'm not taking over as alpha just because now it's convenient for Sam."

"Will you at least consider it?" Sue pleaded. "Whether you like it or not you do have a duty to this pack."

"Being alpha is not my duty. It was Jacob Black's duty, I don't hear anyone crying for him to come back and take the job that is rightfully his from birth."

"Jacob imprinted." Emily argued.

Leah rolled her eyes. "I don't care. None of this is my goddamn problem. You and Sam knew what the situation was before you decided to have a kid so deal with it."

"Oh Leah, plea-." Sue tried.

"No!"

* * *

"Paul says you hissed at him."

Senalda shrugs. "He growled at me." She states simply.

"I get that part but you hissed."

Senalda cocks her head, dark eyes alight with mischief. "Should I have just let him? Done nothing?"

Rachel steps back, confused as ever. "Uh…no?"

Senalda smirks. "Good."

They continue their walk down the beach, Luca and Claire running ahead of them happily.

"What are you?"

"A familiar."

Rachel stops instantly and Senalda keeps going, the smirk on her face growing.

"A what?"

Senalda still walking, "You heard me."

Rachel rushes to catch up to the other woman. "I heard you but I don't have a clue what that is." She takes a moment, mulling the word over in her mind. "A familiar?"

"It's a witch's companion," Senalda explains. "We come in many forms. Snakes, dogs, horse-."

"Cats." Rachel states cutting Senalda off. "You're a cat."

Senalda turns to her, still smirking widely. "Bingo."

"Wow." Rachel was momentarily distracted by the sound of Luca and Claire laughing. She eyed the boy for a moment before turning back to Senalda. "Is it genetic, like the pack?"

"Yes."

"And is Luca?"

"Yes."

"How do you know that?"

Senalda shrugs. "It's a feeling. He's like Leah, he doesn't smell quite human."

"Ah."

They continued following the children in silence again until they hear yelling from behind them. The voice was instantly recognized as Leah's. They stop again.

Rachel gestured behind her. "You know what's going on with that?" Senalda nods. "And you're okay with it?"

It's a long, silent moment before Senalda responds.

"I trust Leah and I'm going to trust that she'll do what's best."

Rachel raised a brow. "Up against a manipulative ex-boyfriend, her backstabbing, innocent-playing cousin and worse yet her heartbroken grief-stricken mother?" Senalda nods again, this time very hesitantly. "That's some trust you got there but I know her."

"And so do I. She's loyal, fiercely protective and even though she puts on a tough front she truly doesn't want to hurt anyone, even those who have hurt her. But in life you can't go without hurting anyone, someone's bound to be disappointed."

Rachel gasps, staring at Senalda. "And you're okay if you're the one she disappoints."

Senalda looks away from Rachel, instead choosing to watch Claire and Luca play chicken with the tide. She wishes that life were as uncomplicated as the children's little game.

"If she's happy." To Senalda, it's simple. To Rachel, it all seems so terribly unfair.

"I'm sorry." Rachel whispers at her side.

"Don't be. This was probably never meant to be anyway. Even the cat inside of me hates the wolf inside of her." Senalda aims a smile Rachel's way, it doesn't reach her eyes though. "It's all for the best."

Rachel can't help it, again she whispers, "Sorry."

And Senalda repeats, "Don't be."

* * *

Later that evening, Leah and Sue are in the kitchen cleaning up after dinner. They chat idly about the day at the beach, glossing over the beginning of the trip (avoiding the alpha conversation) and mostly focusing on the fun they had with the children.

"That little boy is growing on me." Sue stops, dish in hand, pondering a moment. "Senalda's okay. I don't really…approve but if it's going to be her then okay."

Leah looks confused, letting the plate she was washing fall into the sink again. "You don't approve?" She's completely confused. For the last three days her mother hadn't said a word about the Senalda thing. Sue had seemed very accepting of the whole thing after their first conversation.

Leah takes a deep breath. "Okay, you don't have to. Just know that I love her and that it's not ever going to be worth an argument."

"I know. I decided that it wasn't worth it the very first day which is why I said nothing. I already lost one child, no need to send the other running again."

Leah closes her eyes, breathing in and out slowly, before opening them again. Staying calm, being a calm person is not something that comes easily to her and she's fighting herself right now. "I didn't mean to-."

"To not call me for three years? Tell me that you got married? That you kind of have a child?" Sue sighs. "I'm your mother Leah, I deserved something."

Leah nods. "You did but I thought to pick up the phone I could see you begging me to come home. Se-." She stops breathing heavily. Can't say his name. Can't say his name. Can't say his name. Deep breath in, deep breath out. "I saw myself back here. I saw myself buried in the same black hole of misery." Leah shakes her head erratically, like the very thought of returning to La Push is driving her mad. "Couldn't do it. Not for you, not for…him. Just couldn't."

"I wouldn't have betrayed you that way. If I knew that you were happy," There's a gentleness to Sue's face as looks at Leah, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I wouldn't have tried to force you back."

"Then what is this?" Leah can feel the fire inside of herself building up slowly. "I'm happy." She states softly. "Coming back to run a pack full of people who barely like me will not make me happy."

"It could be different this time. Senalda and Luca can be here with you."

Leah stares at her mother as if she's crazy. And then she says it. "Are you insane? They will never be happy here. I've barely been here for three days and I've already heard the talk, seen people's reactions. Luca will never have friends and he'll probably be bullied at tribal school. We'll end up sending him somewhere in Forks. Senalda won't be accepted either, she'll never have a life outside of this house." Leah takes another deep breath. "I love you mom and if it were just me, I could do it. I could handle living a solitary life in this house and my only positive interactions being with you. I could live with it, I did it for a good number of years after shifting."

"Leah."

Leah and Sue both turned to the entrance of the kitchen, their eyes falling on Senalda instantly. Sue notices how Leah's face lights up at the sight of the other woman and she feels a little guilt about her earlier suggestions.

"We're leaving." Leah damn near screams hallelujah she's so relieved. Leaving seems like the best thing for everyone at the moment. "Luca is asleep in the car and our things are in the trunk. If he wakes up before our flight I'll call you and let you two talk. I think that's the last time that should be done though."

Suddenly Leah's face falls, all signs of relief quickly die. "W-what? Seni, what are you talking about?"

"I'm going to go."

"Home?"

_Please be going home_, Leah silently begs. The guilty look on Senalda's face says otherwise.

"Why can't you just let me do what's best for you?" Senalda's words are laced with exhaustion, like she's rehearsed this moment over and over again in a bathroom mirror to no avail.

"Fuck what's best for me!"

Sue steps away from the sink, away from Leah and the now forgotten dishes, as she quietly watches the moment unfold between the two.

Senalda shakes her head. "I can't do this to you. I told you that, I won't watch you lose."

"I'm not losing when I'm with you."

"I'm not worth it." The words seem to come out of nowhere but they truly are the heart of the matter. "You said it yourself just now, you'd be here if it weren't for Luca and I."

"I was trying to-."

Senalda doesn't even let her finish. "I'm not worth it." She repeats firmly. "You'll regret choosing me."

"I wouldn't"

"You won't?" Senalda laughs, the sound is hollow and bitter. "And one day when we get a call that she's dead," Senalda gestures in Sue's direction, the woman's presence nearly forgotten a moment ago. "How will you feel then?"

"I don't know."

"Well I do. Regret. Resentment. Anger. I felt all those things and I hated my father for years after my mother's death and then my brothers'. Because of his choices I didn't get to say goodbye to my mother or my brothers. I hate him for all the things I've lost." Sue grows pale, completely shocked by Senalda's words. "You'll hate me for the same."

"I could never hate you." It's the only thing that Leah can think to say.

"You would, you just don't know it yet."

With those final words, Senalda turns and leaves. Leah trails behind her, only stopping the other woman when they are outside standing before the rental car.

"I love you." Leah states gathering the other woman in her arms.

Senalda closes her eyes against Leah's shoulder and smiles; a single tear slides down her right cheek. "I love you." She repeats softly, before moving away from Leah and focusing her wide dark eyes on the other woman again. "I love you."

And then she's gone.

It isn't an instant thing though. It's a long torturous moment.

Leah watches as Senalda gets in the car, the motion seems way too slow and then she watches as the rental car rides down the road, that motion seems way too fast.

Either way, Leah is left standing on the side of the road alone. She doesn't even look in her mother's direction when she feels Sue come to stand beside her.

"Call Sam and tell him to gather the pack at First Beach."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:**

And we're on to the final chapter! After this I'm going back to I'm Sorry Miss Jackson land (going to be revising the first few chapter so if you read that one expect some change there) and I'll probably be starting a new story pretty soon. Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you guys enjoy :)!

***I edited but I'm sure there are some mishaps, so sorry about those.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Twilight or any of the characters

* * *

At First Beach, the pack sits before Leah. Only the wolves she knows though and she's sure this was done on purpose. They are the ones who know what buttons to press in order to manipulate her. She's not for it today. Not at all.

"Fuck all of you."

"Leah I thou-."

"Shut the fuck up, Sam Uley!" Leah screeches at the top of her lungs, effectively silencing the alpha and any other wolf who thought he might dare interrupt her. "I don't care what the fuck you think or thought! I've already told you how I feel about your fucking request." She looked around at those in attendance. Jared, Paul, Quil and Embry. Emily and Rachel had joined as well.

"You're not going to be alpha?" Emily asked quietly. If looks could kill, the one Leah tossed in Emily's direction would have sent the other woman six feet under.

Leah and Rachel both rolled their eyes. Rachel didn't keep quiet though.

"Are you really that blind? Why the hell would she want to be alpha?" Emily rubbed her pregnant gently. "Are you serious? She should do you and Sam a favor now? I'm pretty sure she's done enough favors. Not to mention that she sucked it up and went to your wedding and played maid of honor. You know the wedding of the ex-boyfriend who left her for her cousin. Not to mention that this isn't just a fucking favor. It's not like you're asking her to babysit for a couple of hours while you go out and run errands. You're asking her to either force her family to make a huge life change which will more than likely be incredibly damaging or to give up that family if they refuse to accept this ridiculous demand. I mean what the fuck! Do you really think it's okay to ask her to sacrifice her family for yours? Do you?"

Everyone was staring at Rachel. Even Leah was giving her a face.

"What?" Rachel asked staring at Leah. "I was only trying to help you out."

If Leah wasn't still a bit worked up she would have laughed at the other woman's defensiveness. "It's not that. It's just that you just said my whole speech."

Rachel's lips instantly curved into a smile. "Not entirely, I wasn't finished. Will you do the honors?"

Leah smiled back. "Of course. As Rachel was saying, I'm not doing anymore favors for Sam and Emily. You made a kid knowing what the situation was. I don't owe you a quick fix to your problems especially not at the expense of my family. I've said it once before and I promise that this will be the last time that I say it: I do not want to be alpha. I am done sacrificing myself for this pack."

"So that's it?" Sam asks. "You're not even really going to consider it or give the idea a chance?"

"Oh my god!" Rachel groaned in the background.

Leah turned to Sam, trying to be as calm as possible. "Yes, Sam, and you knew that was it from the beginning."

"Come on, Leah!" Jared called out. "He and Emily are going to have a baby!"

"I'd have to be blind not to notice."

"What about Sue? The brother you just buried." Emily stated clutching her belly. "My baby and I? We're your family. We deserve to have you in our lives!" Emily looked incredibly upset; her eyes were wet with unshed tears and face was quickly turning red. Sam wrapped his arms around her and brought her close.

"Please, Leah." Sam begged.

In the background, again, was Rachel. "Oh come the fuck on!"

Leah almost felt bad for the two of them. Almost.

"No. My wife left because of all this shit today. It wasn't about me owing her, guilt or my 'duty'. It was because she didn't want to hurt me. That she wasn't worth me getting hurt." Leah looked as though she were perplexed by the very notion that someone could be unworthy of her, or that she had worth. "I choose her, someone who would rather hurt herself and her son because she thinks I'm worth not hurting." Leah knew that it had hurt Senalda to leave, no matter how strong the other woman had tried to be. "I choose her." She stated again, more firmly.

Leah looked around at the now silenced pack again, only throwing a smile in Rachel's direction, before turning and walking away from them.

"Leah!" Sam called as Leah walked away.

She did not turn around.

* * *

When Leah reached the Clearwater house, she was sweaty and disheveled. Her medium length, black hair stuck to her forehead and the navy sundress she worse clung to her body. Her feet also ached terribly after the barefoot walk home; she'd abandoned her flip flops at the end of First Beach.

However, all acknowledgement of her discomfort was abandoned when she looked up at the front porch and saw Senalda standing by the front door, staring at her with a hesitant smile on her face.

"Hey." Leah stated breathlessly, when she stood at the foot of the stairs. A ghost a smile was on her lips.

Senalda was no longer hesitant, her face broke out into a broad grin. "Hey."

"You're here."

Senalda shrugged. "I'm a cat so that makes me a selfish, asshole by nature. Even though I wanted to and planned to do the selfless thing, I seem to be completely incapable of it."

"Fuck the selfless thing. Let's get the hell out of here and go home." Leah was full on smiling now.

Leah walked up the porch steps and embraced Senalda, hugging the other's woman's body close to her own.

"Are you sure?" Senalda spoke into Leah's hair. She breathed her in, ignoring the scent of the male wolves and just enjoying the smell of the woman she loved.

"Yes."

"Well it's going to have to wait, Luca convinced your mother to make some peanut butter cookies with him."

Leah laughed. "Of course he did."

"So we'll stay for cookies?"

Leah nodded.

"And we'll come back?"

Leah pulled away from Senalda, looking into her eyes with a deeply confused expression on her face.

"What?"

"For Thanksgiving and Christmas? To visit Sue. Maybe she'll even come to visit us a week or two here and there."

"Really?"

"Of course. You don't have to lose your mother." Senalda gave Leah her best smile. "And I think she's okay."

Leah laughed again, remembering the earlier conversation she had, had with her mother. "She thinks you're okay too."

"Good."

Leah leaned in and captured Senalda's lips, kissing her softly. When Leah pulled away, she stared into Senalda's dark eyes and repeated her statement, "Good."

And then the two went into the house, hoping they still had a chance to enjoy the cookies that Sue and Luca had made.

_The End._


End file.
